Dishwasher

ABSTRACT

A dishwasher is disclosed, by which a manufacturing cost of the dishwasher can be reduced in a manner of reducing the number of pumps used for the dishwasher. The present invention includes a tub ( 1 ), a sump ( 20 ) provided under the tub ( 1 ) to store water, a wash passage ( 51 ) guiding the water stored in the sump ( 20 ) to the tub ( 1 ), a drain passage ( 52 ) guiding the water stored in the sump ( 20 ) to be discharged from the tub ( 1 ), a driving unit ( 10 ) provided tinder the sump ( 20 ), the driving unit ( 10 ) pumping the water after grinding garbage contained in the introduced water, and a passage switching valve ( 60 ) provided to a diverging portion between the wash passage ( 51 ) and the drain passage ( 52 ) to enable the water pumped by the wash pump to be selectively supplied to the wash passage ( 51 ) or the drain passage ( 52 ).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a dishwasher. Although the presentinvention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it isparticularly suitable for reducing a product cost of the dishwasher bysharing a wash pump and a drain pump.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, a dishwasher is a device for washing tableware in a manner ofspraying high-pressure water on the tableware and then drying the washedtableware.

The dishwasher consists of a case, upper and lower racks provided withinthe case, upper and lower nozzles, a sump and a driving unit provided tothe sump. In this case, tableware is accommodated within the racks. And,a nozzle for spraying water is provided over or under each of the racks.

Water is collected in the sump. The water is pumped by the driving unitto be sprayed via the respective nozzles. The tableware is then washedby the water sprayed via the nozzles.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

Moreover, the dishwasher is provided with a water supply pipe enablingwater to be supplied into a tub by connecting the tub and a water sourceoutside the case together and a drain pipe enabling the water polluteddue to the washing of the tableware to be drained out of the dishwasher.And, a drain pump is provided to the drain pipe to discharge the watercollected in the sump from the dishwasher.

However, since the wash pump and the drain pump are separately providedto the related art dishwasher, a manufacturing cost of the dishware israised.

Technical Solution

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a dishwasher thatsubstantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations anddisadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a dishwasher, by whicha manufacturing cost of the dishwasher can be reduced in a manner ofreducing the number of pumps used for the dishwasher.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may berealized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in thewritten description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, adishwasher according to the present invention includes a tub, a sumpprovided under the tub to store water, a wash passage guiding the waterstored in the sump to the tub, a drain passage guiding the water storedin the sump to be discharged from the tub, a driving unit provided underthe sump, the driving unit pumping the water after grinding garbagecontained in the introduced water, and a passage switching valveprovided to a diverging portion between the wash passage and the drainpassage to enable the water pumped by the wash pump to be selectivelysupplied to the wash passage or the drain passage.

Preferably, the dishwasher further includes a garbage chamber, intowhich a portion of the water pumped by the wash pump is introduced, thegarbage chamber collecting the garbage contained in the introduced waterand a discharge valve opening/closing a discharge port for dischargingthe garbage collected in the garbage chamber.

More preferably, the discharge valve is turned on if the passageswitching valve connects the wash pump and the drain passage together.

In this case, the passage switching valve and the discharge valve arelinked together to interoperate.

And, the dishwasher further includes a link means for enabling thepassage switching valve and the discharge valve interoperate tointeroperate together.

Preferably, the driving unit includes a motor providing a driving forceand an impeller connected to a shaft of the motor to rotate.

More preferably, the driving unit further includes a disposer grindingthe garbage contained in the water, wherein the disposer is providedover the impeller.

In another aspect of the present invention, a dishwasher includes a tub,a sump provided under the tub to store water, a wash passage guiding thewater stored in the sump to the tub, a drain passage guiding the waterstored in the sump to be discharged from the tub, a driving unitprovided under the sump, the driving unit pumping the water aftergrinding garbage contained in the introduced water, and a garbagechamber having an inlet communicating with the wash passage and adischarge port for discharging collected garbage, wherein the dischargeport is provided over the driving unit.

Preferably, the discharge port and a top of the driving unit areconfigured to communicate with each other.

Preferably, the driving unit includes a motor providing a driving force,an impeller connected to a shaft of the motor to rotate, and a disposergrinding the garbage contained in the water.

More preferably, the disposer is provided over the impeller.

Preferably, the dishwasher further includes a discharge valveopening/closing the discharge port.

In this case, the dishwasher further includes a passage switching valveprovided to a diverging portion between the wash passage and the drainpassage to enable the water pumped by the wash pump to be selectivelysupplied to the wash passage or the drain passage.

And, the passage switching valve and the discharge valve are linkedtogether to interoperate.

Moreover, the dishwasher further includes a link means for enabling thepassage switching valve and the discharge valve interoperate tointeroperate together.

Accordingly, the present invention enables both an expensive wash pumpand a drain pump to be shared, thereby reducing a manufacturing cost ofa dishwasher.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

Advantageous Effects

Accordingly, the present invention provides the following effects and/oradvantages.

First of all, the present invention enables the courses of a dishwasherusing a wash pump only without a drain pump, thereby reducing amanufacturing cost of the dishwasher.

Secondly, the present invention is able to drive both a passageswitching valve and a discharge valve using a single driving means,thereby reducing a manufacturing cost.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, itis intended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram of a dishwasher accordingto one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective diagram of a driving unit provided to thedishwasher shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a layout of the driving unit shown in FIG. 2, in which a coverof the driving unit is removed;

FIG. 4 is a layout of the driving unit shown in FIG. 2, in which afilter provided to a cover of the driving unit is removed;

FIG. 5 is a perspective diagram of a passage switching valve provided toa diverging pipe and a discharge valve provided to a discharge port of agarbage chamber; and

FIG. 6 is a diagram for operations of the passage switching valve andthe discharge valve shown in FIG. 5.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

First of all, a dishwasher according to one embodiment of the presentinvention is explained with reference to the accompanying drawings asfollows.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram of a dishwasher accordingto one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a dishwasher according to one embodiment of thepresent invention includes a tub 1, upper and lower nozzles 4 and 5,upper and lower racks 6 and 7, a sump 20 and a driving unit 10.

A wash space for washing tableware therein is provided within the tub 1.And, the upper and lower nozzles 4 and 5 are provided upper and lowerparts within the tub 1, respectively. The upper rack 6 is provided overthe upper nozzle 4, while the lower rack 7 is provided over the lowernozzle 5. And, tableware is accommodated within each of the racks 6 and7.

Water is collected and stored in the sump 20. One side of the sump 20 isconnected to a wash pump 30 configuring a portion of the driving unit10. The water stored in the sump 20 is pumped by the wash pump 30 and isthen shifted to the nozzles 4 and 5 via upper and lower passages 2 and3, respectively.

Preferably, the upper and lower nozzles 4 and 5 are rotatably providedover the driving unit 10. Each of the racks 6 and 7 respectivelycorresponding to the nozzles 4 and 5 includes spray holes enabling thewater to be sprayed therethrough. Therefore, the tableware accommodatedwithin the racks 6 and 7 can be washed by the water sprayed through thespray holes.

FIG. 2 is a perspective diagram of the sump 20 and the driving unit 10provided to the dishwasher shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the driving unit 10 includes a wash pump 30 pumpingthe water collected in the sump 20.

The sump 20 includes an inclined plane 21 provided to its edge to have adish shape inclined downward toward its central portion and a tank 22configured to extend from the central portion downward to collect thewater therein. A heater (not shown in the drawing) is provided withinthe tank 22 to heat the water collected in the tank 22.

The wash pump 30 pumping the water is provided to a bottom of the tank22. And, the wash pump 30 includes a wash motor 31 and an impeller 32.In this case, the wash motor 31 is provided under the sump 20 togenerate a driving force and the impeller 32 connected to the wash motor31 pumps the water collected in the tank 22.

A filter 23 can be provided over the tank 22 to filter off garbagecontained in the falling water having been sprayed on the tablewareaccommodated in the racks 6 and 7. The driving unit 10 further includesa disposer 24 provided over the filter 23 to grind or pulverize thegarbage contained in the water introduced into the sump 20.

A filtering means for filtering off the garbage contained in the watercirculating from the sump 20 to the tub 1 is provided over the sump 20.

The filtering means includes a cover 40 coupled with a topside of thesump 20. In this case, the cover 40 is partitioned into an inside and anoutside by a partition protruding upward in a ring shape.

A multitude of return holes 42 are provided to the outside of thepartition 41 to enable the water sprayed into the tub 1 to be introducedinto the sump 20. And, a garbage chamber 45 is provided to the inside ofthe partition 41 to enable the garbage contained in the water suppliedto the tub 1 to be collected therein.

And, a filter 46 for filtering off the garbage contained in the waterintroduced into the garbage chamber 45 is provided over the garbagechamber 45.

FIG. 3 is a layout of the driving unit 10 shown in FIG. 2, in which thecover 40 is removed. FIG. 4 is a layout of the driving unit 10 shown inFIG. 2, in which the filter 46 provided to the cover 40 is removed.

In the following description, passages of the driving unit 10 areexplained in detail with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a supply pipe 25 for supplying the waterpumped by the wash pump 30 provided to the tank 22 is provided to oneside of the tank 22 for collecting the water therein.

The supply pipe 25 is configured to communicate with a wash passage 51for guiding the water to be sprayed into the tub 1 and a drain passage52 for guiding the water to be discharged from the tub 1.

In order for the supply pipe 25 to communicate with each of the washpassage 51 and the drain passage 52, it is preferable that the supplypipe 25, the wash passage 51 and the drain passage 52 are coupled witheach other by a diverging pipe 53 having a Y-shape.

The diverging pipe 53 includes a first diverging port 53 a connected tothe wash passage 51 and a second diverging port 53 b connected to thedrain passage 52.

A passage switching valve 60 is provided within the diverging pipe 53.In this case, the passage switching valve 60 selectively turns on/of thefirst diverging port 53 a or the second diverging port 53 b to enablethe water pumped by the wash pump 30 to be selectively supplied to thewash passage 51 or the drain passage 52.

In the present invention, without using a separate drain pump providedto the drain passage 52, by providing the passage switching valve 60 toa diverging portion between the wash passage 51 and the drain passage52, it is able to supply the water collected in the sump 20 into the tub1 or to an external environment of the tub 1 using the wash pump 30only.

A passage control valve 70 is provided to the inclined plane 21 of thesump 20 connected to the wash passage 51. In this case, the passagecontrol valve 70 enables the water supplied from the wash passage 51 tobe selectively supplied via the upper or lower passage 2 or 3. Thepassage control valve 70 is configured to have a disc shape with twoholes 70 a and 70 b. A driving means (not shown in the drawings) fordriving the passage control valve 70 is provided under the sump 20.

It the driving means rotates the passage control valve 70, theupper/lower passage 2/3 is selectively turned on/off according torelative positions between the two holes 70 a and 70 b and two dischargeholes 47 and 48 provided to the cover 40 that will be explained withreference to FIG. 4 later.

And, an outflow hole 75 is provided to the inclined plane of the sump20. In this case, the water supplied from the wash passage 51 alwaysflows out via the outflow hole 75 regardless of the rotational positionof the passage control valve 60.

Referring to FIG. 4, two discharge holes 47 and 48 are provided topositions of the cover 40 to correspond to the installed position of thepassage control valve 70. One 47 of the two discharge holes 47 and 48 isconfigured to communicate with the upper passage 2 and the other 48 isconfigured to communicate with the lower passage 3.

An introducing port 45 a for introducing the water into the garbagechamber 45 is provided to one side of the garbage chamber 45 tocorrespond to the discharge hole 75 and a discharge port 45 b fordischarging the garbage gathering in the garbage chamber 45 is providedto the other side of the garbage chamber 45. In this case, the dischargeport 45 b is configured to communicate with an upper part of the drivingunit 10. Therefore, the garbage discharged via the discharge port 45 bis grinded by the disposer 24 configuring the driving unit 10.

The side of the garbage chamber 45 having the discharge port 45 isconfigured to be inclined lower than the other side having theintroducing port 45 a. Hence, the garbage introduced in the garbagechamber 45 gathers toward the discharge port 45 b. And, a dischargevalve 80 is provided to the discharge port 85 b to discharge the garbagefrom the garbage chamber 45.

In the following description, a process for the garbage to gather in thegarbage chamber 45 is explained in brief.

First of all, the water supplied to the wash passage 51 by the wash pump30 is introduced into the garbage chamber 45 in part. If the water keepsbeing introduced into the garbage chamber 45, a waver level within thegarbage chamber 45 rises. As the water keeps being introduced into thegarbage chamber 45, the garbage contained in the water is filtered offby the filter 46 provided over the garbage chamber while the waterpasses through the filter 46. The water through the filter 46 is thenrecollected into the sump 20 via the return hole 42 provided to theoutside of the cover 40. While the washing course of the dishwasher isin progress, the above process is repeated to enable the garbage togather in the garbage chamber 45.

In the following description, structures of the passage switching valve60 provided to the diverging pipe 53, at which the wash passage 51 andthe drain passage 52 diverge from each other, and the discharge valve 80provided to the discharge port 45 b of the garbage chamber 45 areexplained in detail with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6.

FIG. 5 is a perspective diagram of a passage switching valve provided toa diverging pipe and a discharge valve provided to a discharge port of agarbage chamber, and FIG. 6 is a diagram for operations of the passageswitching valve and the discharge valve shown in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the passage switching valve 60 includesa rotational shaft 61 having its top and bottom hinged with thediverging pipe 53, a support portion extending in a radial direction ofthe rotational shaft 61, and a packing member 63 provided to both sidesof the support portion 63. If the rotational shat 62 rotates to blockthe first diverging port 53 a, the supply pipe 25 and the drain passage52 communicate with each other. If the packing member 63 blocks thesecond diverging port 53 b, the supply pipe 25 and the wash passage 51communicates with each other.

The discharge valve 80 includes an opening/closing member 81opening/closing the discharge port 45 b provided to the garbage chamber45. The opening/closing member 81 covers the discharge port 45 b of thegarbage chamber 45 and its one side is hinged.

The dishwasher according to the present invention includes a drivingmeans for driving both of the passage switching valve 60 and thedischarge valve 80 simultaneously. And, a loading part 26 for loadingthe driving means 90 therein is provided under the sump 20.

Preferably, the driving means 90 includes a step motor rotated at aprescribed angle.

In order for the driving means 90 to simultaneously drive both of thepassage switching valve 60 and the discharge valve 80, a link means 100is provided.

The link means 100 includes a cam 110 rotating according to anactivation of the driving means 90, first and second pistons 120 and 130vertically reciprocating according to the rotation of the cam 110, aconnecting member 125 connecting the first piston 120 with the bottom ofthe rotational shaft 61 of the passage switching valve 60 together, anda rod 132 provided under the discharge valve 80 by being connected withthe first piston 120.

A first projection 111 is provided to one side of the cam 110 and asecond projection 112 is provided to the other side of the cam 110.Preferably, the first and second projections 111 and 112 are configuredto form 90 degrees mutually.

The first projection 111 and the first piston 120 are connected togetherby a first connecting rod 121. And, the second projection 112 and thesecond piston 130 are connected together by a second connecting rod 131.In particular, the first piston 120 and the first connecting rod 121 arehinged together and the second piston 130 and the second connecting rod131 are hinged together. Moreover, the second piston 130 is connected tothe rod 132 of the discharge valve 80.

The loading part 26 includes a first guide 26 a guiding thereciprocation of the first piston 120 and a second guide 26 b guidingthe reciprocation of the second piston 130.

Operations of the above-described dishwasher are explained in brief asfollows.

First of all, the above-described dishwasher performs the steps ofpreliminary washing, main washing, rinsing, heating rinsing and dryingsequentially or selectively. A discharging step of discharging water isperformed between the respective steps.

When the dishwasher performs the washing or rinsing, the passageswitching valve 60, as shown in FIG. 5, blocks the second diverging port53 b of the diverging pipe 53 as soon as the discharge valve 80 blocksthe discharge port 45 b of the garbage chamber 45. Therefore, the waterpumped by the wash pump 30 is supplied to the tub 1 via the wash passage51. In doing so, the garbage contained in the water gathers in thegarbage chamber 45.

When the water is discharged from the tub 1, the driving means 90rotates the cam by 180° in the state shown in FIG. 5. Hence, the firstprojection 111 provided to the cam 110 becomes most distant from thefirst guide 26 a.

Accordingly, the cam 110 pulls the first piston 120 and the connectingmember 125.

As the connecting member 125 is pulled, the rotational shaft 61 of thepassage switching valve 60 is rotated. If so, the packing member 63blocks the first diverging port 53 a as soon as opens the seconddiverging port 53 b. Therefore, the supply pipe 25 and the drain passage52 come into communicating with each other.

Meanwhile, the second projection 112 provided to the cam 110 becomesclosest to the second guide 26 b.

Accordingly, the cam 110 lifts up the second piston 130. The rod 132connected to the second piston 130 pushes the opening/closing member 81upward. As the opening/closing member 81 is pushed upward to rotatecentering on the hinge shaft, the discharge valve 80 opens the dischargeport 45 b provided to the garbage chamber 45. Hence, the garbagegathering in the garbage chamber 45 is discharged over the driving unit10. In this case, the garbage is grinded or pulverized by the disposer24 and is then introduced into the sump 20. The garbage introduced intothe sump 20 is mixed with the water and is then discharged from the sump20 via the drain passage 52 together with the water pumped by the washpump 30.

1. A dishwasher comprising: a tub; a sump provided under the tub tostore water; a wash passage guiding the water stored in the sump to thetub; a drain passage guiding the water stored in the sump to bedischarged from the tub; a driving unit provided under the sump, thedriving unit pumping the water after grinding garbage contained in theintroduced water; and a passage switching valve provided to a divergingportion between the wash passage and the drain passage to enable thewater pumped by the wash pump to be selectively supplied to the washpassage or the drain passage.
 2. The dishwasher of claim 1, furthercomprising: a garbage chamber, into which a portion of the water pumpedby the wash pump is introduced, the garbage chamber collecting thegarbage contained in the introduced water; and a discharge valveopening/closing a discharge port for discharging the garbage collectedin the garbage chamber.
 3. The dishwasher of claim 2, wherein thedischarge valve is turned on if the passage switching valve connects thewash pump and the drain passage together.
 4. The dishwasher of claim 3,wherein the passage switching valve and the discharge valve are linkedtogether to interoperate.
 5. The dishwasher of claim 4, furthercomprising a link means for enabling the passage switching valve and thedischarge valve interoperate to interoperate together.
 6. The dishwasherof claim 1, the driving unit comprising: a motor providing a drivingforce; and an impeller connected to a shaft of the motor to rotate. 7.The dishwasher of claim 6, the driving unit further comprising adisposer grinding the garbage contained in the water, wherein thedisposer is provided over the impeller.
 8. A dishwasher comprising: atub; a sump provided under the tub to store water; a wash passageguiding the water stored in the sump to the tub; a drain passage guidingthe water stored in the sump to be discharged from the tub; a drivingunit provided under the sump, the driving unit pumping the water aftergrinding garbage contained in the introduced water; and a garbagechamber having an inlet communicating with the wash passage and adischarge port for discharging collected garbage, wherein the dischargeport is provided over the driving unit.
 9. The dishwasher of claim 8,wherein the discharge port and a top of the driving unit are configuredto communicate with each other.
 10. The dishwasher of claim 8, thedriving unit comprising: a motor providing a driving force; an impellerconnected to a shaft of the motor to rotate; and a disposer grinding thegarbage contained in the water.
 11. The dishwasher of claim 10, whereinthe disposer is provided over the impeller.
 12. The dishwasher of claim8, further comprising a discharge valve opening/closing the dischargeport.
 13. The dishwasher of claim 12, further comprising a passageswitching valve provided to a diverging portion between the wash passageand the drain passage to enable the water pumped by the wash pump to beselectively supplied to the wash passage or the drain passage.
 14. Thedishwasher of claim 13, wherein the passage switching valve and thedischarge valve are linked together to interoperate.
 15. The dishwasherof claim 14, further comprising a link means for enabling the passageswitching valve and the discharge valve interoperate to interoperatetogether.